The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-05-07
The New Civil Service.

We believe the law which provides for
the long needed reform of the civil service
of the United States has had no sim
cerer champion than THE PALATKA
NEWS. We have never doubted the
Presidents honesty or good will in the
matter. but we have long sturdily main
tanned that the Idr as Interpreted and
en- forced tras q deIusiOn and a hypocTit
zeal pretense. For Hypocrisy in all its
Proteus forms we cherish an abiding
hatred-for pretense which would
wrong whole people and bring into
contempt a great and good cause our
words have caught the bitterness which
tinged all our thoughts on the subject Our
files bear abundant witness to- all these
cIaims-THE PALATKA NEWS, first of all
the papers in Florida, raised its voice in
favor of Mr.. Cleveland, because of the
reform record he mad already made. We
proclaimed facts within our knowledge
when we attacked hypocrisy and in
Weighed against the breach of faith inn
piled in the acknowledgements of the law
with all the power we could command.
And if these opinions are to be collected
and presented to Mr.. Cleveland" we
would say to-day that not one of them
are withdrawn. We believe that the
questions to- be- answered to the satisfac-
ton of the examiner in regard to- an
applicant are these is he honest: Is
he capable: Is he faithful to the Consti-
tuition :" And, other things being equal.
we believe a Democratic administration
should prefer Democrat to a Republi-
can. If there is offense in these opin-
ions then the offense is knowingly and
wilfully committed.
We have charged that the spirit of
the civil service rules was "A dead let
ter in practice-we have charged
that the methods governing appoint
ments We're worse than in the old
days because on the evils of the past
was piled mountain high the new sin of
hypocrisy. These opinions we also still
retain and this frank avowal may be- for
waried to- Washington by telegraph if
necessary. And when it reaches Mr..
Cleveland he will doubtless endorse it as
correct and file it with the following
statement, equally true, emanating from
the CirH SeIrice Commission itself. Is
not the following the most satisfactory
Endorsement of our position possible:
I'm a letter to the President transmit
| ting this amendment, the Commission
| says: Excepting in the customs district
| of New York, all the evils resulting from
| the promotion system in vogue when the
| Civil Service law was enacted continue
| to exist. Indeed. that system is still in
| force, and under it, aided by solicita-
ton, stupidity and laziness may obtain
precedence over intelligence and indus
| try Personal partiality confers favCrs
upon unwOrthiness, prejudice retards the
advancement of merit, and craftsmanship
rewards or Furnishes political action or
opinion.
| And for the future we indorse heartily
the following plank of the platform just
adopted by the Kentucky democracy
under the lead of Carlisle, as well as its
honest praise and sympathy for the dem
ocratic administration:
We favor honest Civil Service reform.
by which we mean the enforcement of
the faithful performance by persons APP
pointed to office of all public duties in
trusted to them, and to- this end. as well
as to- the maintenance of the spirit OF
| our representative form of government.
we demand the strictest measure of per
sonal and party responsibility. and are
opposed to- the substitution, in room oi
this, life tenure, a civil pension list and
all other appendages of bureaucratic
| system foreign to the genius of our in
situations and people"